Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1887-05-06
t.uIIIOrd NiiIars harm

GUillord Miller Keeps his farm. ms
was settled by decision made by PreSis
dent Cleveland last week. which will
greatly rebound to his credit. Miller set
tied on 100 acres of laud in eastern
Washington in 1873. at a distance of fifty
miles from the Northern Pacific railroad,
which he no doubt thought was lar
enough away 20 protect him from The
ravages of that plratical concern. Never
there, this giant corporation, with It's
5000, 0OO, 900 capitalization, cast covet-
Gus eye upon Milirr's little farm The
claim of the company is that MIller's
farm lies within the area from which ii
has right to make selections 10 cover
any deficiencies that may exist IN is land
grant. 1t is admitted that there is plenty
Of other land that it can choose. but it
evidently coveted Miller's farm for the
sole reason that ii is improved.
The great corporation which has so
preemptorily demanded the pound of
flesh at the expense of the poor farmer
never SCRUBBED to violate the charter
asked and received and still receives nu
merous iHdulgenccs from the gov
ernment II was chartered and
received its land grant in 1864
"A huge grant forty miles wide.
running from Minnesota to the Pacific
ocean. and covering nearly fifty millions
of acres of land-;ll made free gift to
this huge corporation on the condition
that It should complete its road by July
4th, 1876 1t failed entirely to do this
On It's eHtreaty con-res extended the
time Two wears. Not satisfied with this
the corporation persuaded Secretary Of
the Interior SchurZ to give it an addition
al extension of another year, which was
done by one OF those rulings which
corporations have IN other days so read
lily got in the interior department, to
favor them With all these favors the
entire road WAS 10 be completed on July
I. 1879, but on that date they had COM
pIeted only $50 miles out of total length
of , 362 miles within the extended time
which was the condition on which they
held their grant of between forty and
fifty millions Of acres. They have NOT
even yet completed the road, for 225
miles of it still remain HnHonstruci
ed. But they hold reserved to them
4 DO00d acres Of fertile land in the
valley of the Columbia river, from which
the government keeps settlers to this day
on the ground that some day. heaven
knows when, the corporation may take =
notion to do what it agreed to do BY
july 4 1876 and has not Vet done in
May, 1887
President Clevelan,i's letter to Secre~
tary Lamar on the subject administers Il
singing rehuke To this land grabbing
corporation. and indirectly to the interior
department for daI.ying with the subject
So long The ideas expressed in the
presidents letter are not only in strict
accord with the elementary principles OF
justice hut also in keeping the policy with
of the democratic party. rs repeatedly de
cIared in its platforms 1t is evideui
that the administration has no sympathy
with favoriiisn extended to giant cor
poratious ut the expense of poor settlers
which became national scandal IN .he
days of republican rule. No subsidies of
land in future and the forfeiture of all
not earned according 10 the very letter
of the grant. is the democratic motto.